Student Network Use Policy

Emmanuel College (EC) Residence Hall rooms are equipped with an Ethernet Network Connection which grants your computer access to the Campus Network (EC Network), and the Internet. The Residence Hall Network is a part of the EC Network and its governance, therefore, is subject to all laws, rules, and policies that govern the entire EC Network. Student use of this connection is a privilege and any use violating the terms of this agreement will result in the suspension, or termination, of this privilege and may result in other disciplinary actions. The following policies are designed to help protect our customers, as well as the Internet in general, from inappropriate or illegal activities.

General Violations

Impersonation: Alteration of any header information (known as spoofing) with the intention of misleading or impersonating other users, or systems, is prohibited.

Unauthorized Use: Attempts to gain access to any other computer system, without the consent of the owner of that system, are prohibited.

Commercial or Business Use: Using the EC Network for commercial or business purposes is prohibited.

Copyright Infringement: Using the EC Network to distribute copyrighted material without the permission of the author is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, the use or distribution of items such as web art, registered names, software applications, and music.

Harmful Use: Activity adversely affecting the ability of other people, or systems to use the EC Network, the Internet or other connected networks is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, any action, or attempted action, resulting in the denial of service to other networks, systems, or individuals.

Excessive Bandwidth Use: Using excessive bandwidth, as determined by the EC Director of Information Systems, which adversely affects use of the EC Network, the Internet, or any other connected network, is prohibited.

Unsolicited Mass E-mail: Using the EC Network as a means of distributing unsolicited mass e-mail is prohibited.

Introduction of Non-Authorized Equipment: Introduction of any networking equipment onto the EC Network is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, items such as hubs, switches, bridges, routers, and access servers. Non-authorized equipment is subject to confiscation and disposal at the discretion of the DIS.

Important Notices

No Expectation of Privacy: Users are advised that any traffic sent across the EC Network should be considered public. There are three primary reasons that network data must be considered public. First, as with any use of networks, there is the potential for hackers illegally gaining access, thus compromising data integrity. Second, the EC Network and the data traversing the network may be subject to the State Open Records act. Third, proper network maintenance requires EC personnel to monitor the network. Users are advised that monitoring requires EC personnel to view data transmitted across the network. Emmanuel College will cooperate with appropriate legal authorities in investigating claims of illegal activity. In addition, EC staff will report to appropriate legal authorities, any illegal action brought to our attention during the routine monitoring, or maintenance, of the EC Network.

Systems Security: Your system, when attached to the EC Network, will be vulnerable to attacks from anywhere on the Internet. It is your responsibility to properly secure your system. Failure to do so may result in damage to your system, and/or the suspension of networking services, until you demonstrate to the CIS that the security problem has been resolved. It is imperative that you maintain a current anti-virus program that is active anytime your computer is operational.

Network Security Scanning: To assist users with detection of vulnerabilities to attacks, the CIS will run random security scans of connected systems. The purpose of these scans is to assess the vulnerability of systems to attack, not to view network content.

Disclaimers

Networking Systems Maintenance: Occasionally, maintenance is required on various components of the EC Network systems. EC reserves the right to preempt use of the network for maintenance whenever necessary. However, the DIS will make every effort to provide users with appropriate notice, and will perform maintenance at off-peak hours whenever possible.

Legal Liability: Emmanuel College shall not be held legally responsible, or liable, for any damage caused to computer systems by connection to the EC Network, power source, recommendations or actions of support personnel, or faulty documentation. Users should access network resources, documentation materials, and advice from support personnel with discretion.

Failure to Comply: Emmanuel College reserves the right to disconnect - without prior notice - any connection violating the terms of this document, the Acceptable Use Policies, the Information Systems Student Policies manual, or the "Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act Of 1991, Amended 1996" . Any violations of these policies will be handled through EC Student Life disciplinary actions and/or Legal Authorities. If you are disconnected for any reason any money collected is NONREFUNDABLE.